


A Perfectly Mundane Epiphany

by heylissaaaaa



Category: Beauty and the Beast (1991), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Beauty and the Beast - All Media Types
Genre: Disney, F/M, Fluff, I Love Love, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-26
Updated: 2017-09-26
Packaged: 2019-01-05 15:05:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12192252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heylissaaaaa/pseuds/heylissaaaaa
Summary: In response to a prompt I found (link in notes) that basically read: "A Beauty and the Beast AU where Belle realizing she loves Beast isn’t at some dramatic climactic event but during some random everyday moment."





	A Perfectly Mundane Epiphany

**Author's Note:**

> So a while back I saw [this](http://trusmurff.tumblr.com/post/139548760078/a-beauty-and-the-beast-au-where-belle-realizing) and it made me so happy I had to write it. This is the short, one-shot result that just makes me kind of melt every time I read it.

It had been a few months since Belle had offered her life to the Beast in exchange for that of her father. She had almost free reign of the house, except the West Wing. She of course spent most of her time in the library. Sometimes it wasn't even for the purpose of reading that she passed between its doors. Sometimes she was content just to wander its many levels with a hand trailing across the spines as she passed, lost in thought.  
  
This particular evening Belle sat, as she so often did, in the great armchair in the middle of the library. It was very old, and had fallen into disrepair. The upholstery was faded, an echo of the rich crimson it had once been in its younger days. The fabric itself was rough and torn in some places, but these were characteristic which to Belle were markers of love and not abandonment. This was a chair well-used, in which many a great adventure had come to pass. The adventure the chair and its occupant found themselves in the midst of now was one of valiant knights and terrifying dragons. The best kind of adventure, in Belle's opinion.  
  
Looking up from her book, Belle stared absently out one of the high windows that stood watch on either side of the wall facing the pair. The snowstorm that had ravaged the castle for the past few days broke some time during the day, and the stars winked and twinkled high in the sky. The moon sat full and heavy, a silent observer to the turning of the world. Wind howled through the trees and Belle pulled her chair closer to the fire burning in the hearth, soaking up as much warmth as possible.  
  
It was as she turned back to her book that she caught sight of the Beast. He had decided to join her in the library tonight and she welcomed the company. His head was currently buried in several rolls of parchment, the contents of which were unknown to Belle. He looked so peaceful, the planes of his face were not scrunched up in anger or displeasure for once. And the firelight cast him in a way that was very flattering, making him look younger and less severe. This was the Beast she had come to know in her time here, not the monster everyone thought him to be. He was rough around the edge, to be sure. But he was so kind and gentle that it made her heart swell just thinking about it. She...  
  
Her eyes widened and she looked quickly down at her book, turning her body away from the Beast who was still looking over the documents on his desk. She felt her face heat as the implication of her realization took hold in her mind. Did she...[i]love[/i] the Beast? Her heart raced in her chest when she said the word in her mind. She couldn't, it was impossible. And yet her heart fluttered when she pictured his face in her mind. Perhaps if she tried to talk to him about it. She shook her head. No, she couldn't breath a word of this to anyone. All the things it would change, what it would mean. It was better if they all just carried on as they were.  
  
She glanced around the room and at the Beast, but it was only she who was perturbed. Strange how such realization can rock you to your core and yet have no effect outside your own mind, she thought. She shook her head at her own foolishness and continued her reading.  
  
At first the golden flecks that landed on her page seemed like stray embers, sending Belle into a panic that the fire had grown too large. Her head snapped up, focusing in on the fire that was the same size as it had been a few minutes before, maybe even a tad smaller. Her brow creased in confusion. A light source that was not there before flickered in the corner of her vision, growing steadily brighter until Belle had to shade her eyes as she looked at it. It looked like...the Beast? He was no longer in his chair, instead hovered a few inches off the ground, encased in the brightest light she had ever seen. Sparks fluttered to the ground and dissipated like snow, and Belle simply watched the spectacle with wide eyes. The light grew so bright that she could no longer see the Beast at the center of it. She had to look away once it began to hurt her eyes.  
  
As sudden as it had occurred, the light flicked out all at once. The fire burned steadily, and Belle needed a moment for her eyes to adjust to a room that was now much dimmer than before. A dull thud broke the spell that kept her rooted to her place in the chair and she sprang from it, the book falling forgotten to the floor.  
  
She stopped mid stride as the Beast came in to view, though really it wasn't the Beast any longer. The mass on the floor was decidedly human. He was also decidedly not moving. She didn't know whether she should go over to him or not, so she stood there in terrified shock until the door to the library burst open. Several people pushed their way through the door at once, eager and joyous expression on their faces. As the last of them entered the room, their faces faltered. They stared back at her with an almost equal amount of shock. Apparently, whatever they were hoping to see when they entered was not this. She looked between them and the man on the floor, mouth opening and closing but no sound coming out.  
  
One stepped forward and gave a low, sweeping bow. "Lumiere, at your service madam," he said, straightening up to face her. If Belle's eyes could grow any wider than they already were she knew they did just then. Lumiere? Human? But if that was true, then the curse was lifted. But how did...?  
  
A groan from the floor beside her halted her thoughts mid-sentence. She watched as the man on the floor got to his feet on shaky legs, using the desk for support. The expression he wore when his eyes met hers was one of pure hope, and broke her heart in its baldness.  
  
"You love me?"  
  
The pieces clicked into place. Love. It had been love to break the spell. Belle's breath caught, and she tried to swallow. She felt her face heat and knew she must be blushing like crazy. She glanced at her friends in the doorway, who nodded encouragingly at her. She looked back at the Prince, her prince, and nodded.  
  
A boyish grin plastered over his face, he stepped forward and drew to his full height before bowing deeply before Belle. When he rose again, he winked at her. "Hello, madam. My name is Adam," he said. "It's a pleasure to meet you."  
  
She pursed her lips to keep from giggling, and curtsied. "Hello, Prince Adam. My name is Belle," she said. "The pleasure is all mine."


End file.
